The Million Dollar Car Wreck!

[Woochifer]

Only in L.A. would this story cause such a stir, and this time it didn't even involve a freeway chase!

Yesterday, some guy driving a Ferrari Enzo (one of the rarest and most expensive cars in the world -- basically a street-legal race car that doesn't include any power accessories or even a radio) decided to race somebody in a Mercedes during the predawn hours along Pacific Coast Highway going through Malibu. Obviously, expensive taste does not always correlate with common sense or driving skill, as the Ferrari crashed into a utility pole at 120 mph, which cut the car in half and sent debris scattering across both sides of the highway. The accident was broadcast all over the morning news, and shut down both sides of PCH during the morning commute.

Apparently, the owner of the car walked away from the accident with only a bloodied lip, so the racing-spec safety systems on the Enzo worked just as they were designed. However, this is where the story gets its bit of only-in-LA weirdness -- the owner claimed that some other dude named Deitrich actually drove the car and ran into the hills after the accident. Problem with this story is that only driver side airbag deployed. Seems that the car's owner has got other issues on the side as well. And now, the owner has to contend with the wrath of the Ferrari nation, which has been aghast that anybody can be this reckless with a car worth over a million dollars, particularly one that's revered virtually as a work of art like the Ferrari Enzo.

As one Ferrari fan interviewed by the LA Times put it, crashing an Enzo is the equivalent of buying a Van Gogh painting and setting it on fire.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-ferrari22feb22,0,56586.story?coll=la-home-headlines

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ferrari23feb23,0,1692414.story?coll=la-home-headlines

http://www.fantasycars.com/derek/cars/images/ferrari/enzo_2.jpg
BEFORE

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2006-02/22096728.jpg
AFTER

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2006-02/22096721.jpg

[paul_pci]

Two developments today: the police revised their estimate of the speed to 162mph. And then some idiot went down to the crash, snagged a hose and is selling it on ebay. I also heard that the driver, or I mean the guy denying that he was the driver was not the legal owner of the priceless vehicle.

[wayner86]

http://thebidclub.com/page/Enzo_Ferrari_Formula1_repairable_rebuilder_damaged _insurance_wrecked_salvage.jpg

mighty painful images, these guys have too much money on their hands, and a bad case of $hit for brains.



http://www.web-cars.com/enzo/enzo_motor_a.html

http://image.www.rakuten.co.jp/mokeiyabigman/img1041994709.jpeg

not many cars match the beauty of the enzo, truly a masterpiece

[Woochifer]

Two developments today: the police revised their estimate of the speed to 162mph. And then some idiot went down to the crash, snagged a hose and is selling it on ebay. I also heard that the driver, or I mean the guy denying that he was the driver was not the legal owner of the priceless vehicle.

I just read that too. Apparently, the "owner" of that vehicle is a big-time scamster who financed a lavish lifestyle by defrauding investors in his video game company, and then fled to the U.S. after bleeding the company dry. That Enzo was apparently repossessed by the bank, but got illegally shipped to California and it remains unregistered. What a waste of resources. At least he didn't kill someone while turning PCH into a F1 track.


mighty painful images, these guys have too much money on their hands, and a bad case of $hit for brains.

Wow! I guess the remaining Enzo owners are wringing their hands as the car gets rarer and rarer with each dumbass who crashes theirs!

Last night after work, I ventured over to a local martini bar and spotted a guy wearing a red Ferrari jacket so I talked to him about this incident. I thought he worked at the Ferrari dealer down the street from my office, but it turns out that he's owned several Ferraris over the years, and currently drives an older model Testarossa (w/ less than 20k miles on the odometer). His reaction to the Enzo crash was indignant, commenting that just because someone can afford a Ferrari does not mean that they'll know how to drive one. He commented that he'll race his Ferraris on a race track, and even on a closed circuit with no other cars or obstacles around, a Ferrari will test one's driving skills especially at high speeds. Racing on a public street, especially a winding road like PCH that bottlenecks in several spots and also features utility poles along the shoulder, no guard rails, and dirt debris pouring down from periodic hill slides, is just stupid.

[paul_pci]

If you get out to Vegas, don't forget to stop by the Wynn casino as they have a Ferrari dealership there.

[Geoffcin]

theirs!

Last night after work, I ventured over to a local martini bar and spotted a guy wearing a red Ferrari jacket so I talked to him about this incident. I thought he worked at the Ferrari dealer down the street from my office, but it turns out that he's owned several Ferraris over the years, and currently drives an older model Testarossa (w/ less than 20k miles on the odometer). His reaction to the Enzo crash was indignant, commenting that just because someone can afford a Ferrari does not mean that they'll know how to drive one. He commented that he'll race his Ferraris on a race track, and even on a closed circuit with no other cars or obstacles around, a Ferrari will test one's driving skills especially at high speeds. Racing on a public street, especially a winding road like PCH that bottlenecks in several spots and also features utility poles along the shoulder, no guard rails, and dirt debris pouring down from periodic hill slides, is just stupid.
It used to be that to one of the prerequisites of buying a car like this is that you have owned several Ferraris previously. When they came out with the F-40 they included a black box so that they could download your driving profile. You had to agree to RACE the car (sanctioned of course), and have already raced Ferrari's already just to own it. It wasn't supposed to be just some toy for the rich, although that was when Enzo was still around. It looks like they changed their minds a bit and will sell $1M cars to any dumbass that can pony (pun) up the money.

In any case it's not a Van Gogh by any stretch. It's a CAR pure and simple, and there's a factory where they can make more. If this bonehead had trashed a Dusenburg then it would have been a tragedy.

[kexodusc]

Hnmmm Van Gogh painting, or Ferrari...

I know which one I'd take ;)

[topspeed]

http://bimmerxenon.com/enzocrash1.jpg
http://bimmerxenon.com/enzocrash2.jpg
http://bimmerxenon.com/enzocrash3.jpg


Yeah, I read about this yesterday on a car board. Apparently the question is why the driver ran into the hillside after splitting his car in half? The rumor is he's some Bev Hills jackoff that has another one in his garage, but that still doens't explain why he fled :confused: .

The Enzo is supposed to have a blackbox as well, so it will be interesting to see what this moron was doing. There were scavangers all over the wreck trying to get away with the rather expensive carbon fibre remnants. That's LA all right :rolleyes:

The Enzo is a Ken Okuyama design, and like the vast majority of recent Ferraris, is disappointing IMHO. The 612 is boring, the new 599 looks like a Vette, and the Enzo has no grace. Decide for yourself:

Here's a 612 Scaglietti
http://www.poster.net/anonymous/anonymous-ferrari-612-sca-4100451.jpg

Here's a 599 (if you saw a rear 3/4 view, you'd really think it looks like a C6 Vette)
http://auto-presse.de/newssys/galerie/9971/9971_1.jpg


NOW, compare these to the classics:

275GTB NART Spyder
http://www.thewarfields.com/img/BigNARTSpyder.jpg

365GTB/4 Daytona
http://www.daveolimpiautomobiles.com/sold/ferrari/73_365GTB4Red/full-size/73_365GTB4Red_4.jpg

250 SWB California
http://www.ketchamimports.com/images/62_Ferrari_250_SWB_Ca_Spy2.jpg


The Enzo a Van Gough?!? Hardly.

[Geoffcin]

I'll take one of these babies anytime!

http://www.ketchamimports.com/images/62_Ferrari_250_SWB_Ca_Spy2.jpg


The Enzo a Van Gough?!? Hardly.[/QUOTE]

[Kam]

The Enzo is a Ken Okuyama design, and like the vast majority of recent Ferraris, is disappointing IMHO. The 612 is boring, the new 599 looks like a Vette, and the Enzo has no grace. Decide for yourself:

Here's a 612 Scaglietti
http://www.poster.net/anonymous/anonymous-ferrari-612-sca-4100451.jpg

Here's a 599 (if you saw a rear 3/4 view, you'd really think it looks like a C6 Vette)
http://auto-presse.de/newssys/galerie/9971/9971_1.jpg


NOW, compare these to the classics:

275GTB NART Spyder
http://www.thewarfields.com/img/BigNARTSpyder.jpg

365GTB/4 Daytona
http://www.daveolimpiautomobiles.com/sold/ferrari/73_365GTB4Red/full-size/73_365GTB4Red_4.jpg

250 SWB California
http://www.ketchamimports.com/images/62_Ferrari_250_SWB_Ca_Spy2.jpg


The Enzo a Van Gough?!? Hardly.

i always really loved the older ferraris like the dino 246gt in the 70's and the super (relatively speaking) older testarossa's were just gorgeous (1958 250TR... yummy).

[IVB]

When I was 17, I would have not thought twice about taking this guy on in my red '77 Toyota Corolla station wagon with the CB antenna on the roof.

Probably would have given him a good race, too. Esp if it was raining; man I could make that car do mean tricks...